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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. season — in sport
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — in control
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — a phone
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — the sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. season — of the year
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com